Box-band stretcher.



R. H. NORTON.

BOX BAND STRETCHER.

APPLtCATION man NOV. 29. |915.

Patentw Apr. 9, 1918.

'2 SHEETISSHEET 1.

R. H. NORTON.

BOX BAND STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-29.19M-

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' n areas an FFO RALPH H. NORTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO ACMESTEEL GOODS COMPANY,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BOX-BAND STRETCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH H. Non'rox, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Box-Band Stretchers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In some instances it has been the practice in securing a band about abox or other article to secure the ends thereof together by means of abuckle of some kind and in other instances the ends of the band aresecured together without such device. My invention relates to a tool fordrawing the ends of a band for boxes and the like toward or past eachother and thereby stretching the band and maintaining the ends in properrelation while they are being suitably secured. In the preferred form ofthe invention the tool is adapted for fastening such a band by means ofa buckle. In another form of the invention the tool is adapted tostretching bands in which no buckle is employed for securing the endsthereof together. In each instance, however, the tool includes means forgripping both ends of the band and forcing them toward each other, inthe one case, the pressure being applied to the buckle on onehand anddirectly to the band on the" other, and in the other case applieddirectly to both ends of the band. The construction of the device issimple, comprises few parts, is not apt to be broken or renderedinoperative and is easily manipulated for the purpose in view.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown and described two preferredforms of the invention, one of which is particularly adapted for use intightening box bands where a buckle is interposed between the two endsof the band for the purpose of securin them together, and the other ofwhich is particularly adapted for use in connection with bands having nobuckles for uniting their ends. It is to be understood, however, thatthe specific disclosures are for the purpose of exemplification only andthat the scope of the invention is to be ascertained from the followingclaims in which I have endeavored to distinguish it from the prior artso far as known to me without, however, relinquishing or abandoning anypart or feature thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a slde elevationof a portion of a box with a strap or band applied thereto and that formof the device which is particularly adapted for use in connection withbuckles in one of the positions which it assumes when being used; Fig. 2is a horizontal section upon the planes of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, ofthe same device; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the tool partly inelevation upon the line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionupon line 44 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is an elevation of a box with a bandapplied thereto without any buckle and that form of my device adapted toapply such bands, a part of the latter being shown in vertical sectionto better disclose the construction.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the buckle A which the toolis particularly adapted and intended to apply is best seen in Fig. 2 andcomprises substantially a thin metal plate having a trapezoidal openingtherein to receive the ends of the band. One end B of the band is thrustthrough the opening in the buckle from above and folded around the sameand under the body of the band and thereby securely attached to thebuckle. The other end of the band is passed through the opening frombelow and bent backward around the inclined interior edge D and theinclined exterior edge E and beneath the buckle. In the drawing,however, the buckle is shown with the end B fully attached thereto andthe end C inserted through the opening but not bent back around the edgeD. This form of buckle forms the subject-matter of an application forUnited States patent filed by me of even date herewith.

The tool comprises a main lever body 6 which is provided with means forgrasping one end of the box band and a link 7 for engaging and drawingthe buckle toward the other end of the strap. The link 7 is scribedafter it has been appliedtoan end "9, to which reference has been madeabove.

The lower end of the lever terminates-ina foot or anvil 15 substantiallyat right angles tothe body thereof and a reciprocable pin or bolt 16extends through an'opening in lever .21 is pivoted at 22. A shoulder 23is the boss or offset 14 of the lever and through a bore 18 (see dottedlines, Fig. 1) formed in an enlargement 19 of the casting or lever. Theenlargement 19 is also slotted or formed with a pair of lugs 20 betweenwhich a hand formed on the hand lever 21 just above and adapted to bearupon the upper endof the pin or bolt 18, the construction being suchthat when-the handle 21 approaches the rigid handle 24 upon the leverthe shoulder engages the bolt 18 and forces the same downwardly. Acoiled spring 25 is interposed between the lower ofi'set l t-and atransverse pin 26 on the bolt 18 and normally maintains said bolt in itsupper position and out of engagement with the jaw 15. It will now beobvious that when the hand lever 21 is grasped in taking hold of thetool the shoulder 23 engages the upper end of the pin 18 and forces thesame down.- wardly so that the lower. conical end 27 of said boltengages a slightly hollowed seat 28 upon the anvil 15, or if a band orthe like is upon the anvil at the time itbends'or raises a cup in theLand by which latter and the pressure between the parts thelever isprevented ,from moving relatively to, the band.

In operation the buckle is first secured to one end of the band in themanner abovedescribed and the link engaged with one edge of said buckle,the lever being engaged in the manner. above described with the otherend of the band. Upon grasping the rigid andpivoted handles-21, 24, asshown in Fig. 1, the tool is caused to grasp the band at :1 Suitablepoint and the link being already engaged with the proper edge of thebuckle v and with the end of the bandto which the" buckle is attachedextending through the buckle or passage through the head of the .link,movement of the lever to the left, as

shown in said figure, I stretches the band tightly about the box orother article to which it is applied. The forward end of the buckleis'prevented from slipping out.

Y which has been 5 That form of the tool of its grooved seat in the linkby the lu 7 on said link extending overthe forwar part of the buckle.

The stretching action of the tool forces the free end of the band vpassed through the opening 1n the buckle farther'therethrough and whenthe band is sufiiciently tight, said end is bent about the inclined edgeof the opening upon the lever, which parts operate in much the same wayas the similar parts of the form of tool shown in Figs.'1 to 4inclusive. 1

It is necessary, however, to modify the form of the holding means uponthe link in order to adapt it to grip the bale band instead of receivingthe buckle. link 7 is formed with a lateral support or anvil 31 adaptedto be inserted between the end of the band to be grasped thereby and thebox and a dog 32 is pivotedto the link above said support at 33 andformed with a sharpened end 34 adapted to engage the band. It will benoted that any relative movement under tension between the gripped end35 of the hand and the link only tends to cause the dog to grip the bandthe tighter by reason of the position of the pivot with reference to thesupport and. the length of the dog. A handle 36 facilitates swinging thedog against spring 42 when desired. As it is desirable in fastening theends of the band together that the operator have both hands free, I haveprovided means for maintaining the link and lever in the position towhich they are carried when the desired tension has been put upon theband. For this purpose a ratchet bar 37 is pivoted upon the same pivot33 which carries'the dog and extends in the general direction of thelink but beyond the lever where it is formed with a series of ratchet.teeth 38 and a handle 39. The pivoted handle 21* by which the bolt 18 isoperated is in this case prolonged beyond its pivot into an arm 40whichis perforated at its lower end at 41,to receive the end of the ratchetbar 37. In operation the dog and support upon the link are first causedto engage one end of the band and the anvil 15 uponthe leverengaged-beneath the otherend of the band. By gripping the For thispurpose the pivoted handle 21 the bolt 18 is caused to engage the bandupon the anvil 15 and grip the same, and the lever is then pressed tothe right, as shown in Fig. 5.

r The pressure onthe handle fll. and the motion thereof with that of themain lever 6 to the right feeds the latch bar 37 through the opening 41in the arm and therefore when the band is sufiiciently stretched and thepressure on the tool is released it maintains its position freeing thehands of the operator to secure the ends of the box band together.Obviously the ratchet bar shown in Fig. 5 could readily be applied tothat form of the device shown in Fig. 1.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a lever having an anvil thereon,a reciprocating bolt adapted to engage a band on said anvil, a handlepivoted to the lever and adapted to engage one end of the bolt to drivethe other end into engagement with the anvil or a band thereon, and alink pivoted to the lever and having means to engage the other end of abox band.

2. In a device of the class described, a lever having an anvil thereon,a bolt reciprocable longitudinally of the lever toward and from theanvil, a spring surrounding the bolt and normally maintaining the endthereof spaced away from the anvil, a handle pivoted to the lever andengaging the end of the bolt, and a link connected to the lever andhaving means for engaging the other end ofthe box band.

3. In a device of the class described, a lever having an anvil formedthereon, a reciprocating bolt cooperating with the anvil to engage theend of a box band, a handle for reciprocating the bolt pivoted to thelever, a link pivoted to the lever on the same side thereon as thepivoted handle, and means on the link for engaging the other end of thebox band.

4. In a device of the class described, a lever, means on the lever forengaging an end of a box band, a link pivoted to the lever and formedwith a cross head, there being a transverse groove in the cross headadapted to engage the edge of a band buckle.

5. In a device of the class described, a lever, end of a box band, alink pivoted to the lever and formed with a cross head, there being atransverse groove in the cross head adapted to engage the edge of a bandbuckle, and a projection 7 adapted to engage a buckle being operatedupon and maintaining the proper position.

6. In a device of the class described, a lever, means on the lever forengaging an end of a box band, a link pivoted to the lever and formedwith a cross head, there being a transverse groove in the cross headmeans on the lever for engaging an adapted to engage the edge of a bandbuckle, and a slot in said head extending longitudinally of the link.

RALPH II. NORTON.

Witnesses:

a L. R. Sans,

G. LONGMAN.

